


Deerest God

by cajous



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2000 line is mentioned, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy times, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Single Parents, chan's a single dad, changbin has cameo appearance lol, everyone's gonna be happy dw, inspired by Writing Prompts, jeongin is chan's son, minho's a deer god lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cajous/pseuds/cajous
Summary: “Where did everything come from?”“You shouldn’t ask a god where their powers come from, Chan.”“Wait, how do you know my name?”A wink. “Corporate secrets.”***Chan is a single father who's just getting by with his son, Jeongin. Enter Minho, God of Deer and the person Jeongin's been writing to every night.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Yang Jeongin | I.N, Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Minho | Lee Know & Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 80
Kudos: 436
Collections: The Ultimate Minchan Masterlist





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> directly inspired by Writing Prompts! 
> 
> "Your son has taken to writing prayers in letter form, starting them all with “Deerest God.” The misspelling becomes slightly less adorable when the prayers, however ridiculous, are all answered by a doe-like goddess who shows up at your door, crying about how she just loves getting prayers again. She decides to move in and caters to your young son’s every whim."

Becoming a single father was definitely not one of Chan’s life goals, but he damn sure was going to see it through. 

It was hard, no doubt. Balancing work and family was difficult given he was the sole breadwinner of the family, receiving no support from his family overseas who didn’t want to be burdened with his problems. His job, accounting, was well paying but incredibly dull. And going back and forth between his workplace, his son’s school, and home left no personal time to himself. But Jeongin was worth it. As long as his son was happy and grew up with as much love as Chan could give, he was content with his busy lifestyle. However, he could never get rid of that nagging feeling - to give Jeongin more as a father. 

“Daddy!” 

Chan craned his neck to locate his son’s voice just in time to see him run around the corner, arms wide open and beaming from ear to ear. 

“Hey, baby!” Chan laughed, crouching down and bundling Jeongin in his arms. “How was school today?” 

Jeongin wrapped his arms around Chan’s neck as they began making their way to the car, “It was good. A policeman came to visit and talked to us. He had a gun!” 

“What did he talk about?” Chan asked, buckling Jeongin into his seat. 

“He told us not to make fun of our friends and how to call 911. I liked him. I think I want to be a policeman when I grow up!” 

Chan hummed, “Wow, a policeman, huh? That sounds super interesting, baby. Anything else happen?” 

“Me and Hyunjin were talking and he told me that every night, he prays to God and asks questions and for other things. He told me I should do the same and that God will answer everything. I’m gonna to write a letter to God every night.” 

Oh? That was new. Chan never raised Jeongin on any religious beliefs, but he decided it was a good opportunity to broaden Jeongin’s horizon and open his mind, “What’re you going to ask God, then?” 

Jeongin grinned at him through the rear-view mirror, “You’ll see.” 

Their schedule wasn’t much. Due to his work, Chan couldn’t pick up Jeongin right after school, putting him in a daycare instead so Chan could fetch him later. Then, while Chan cooked dinner that admittedly wasn’t the best (though, he was improving!), Jeongin would go through an exercise book before watching cartoons on the iPad. Dinner was served followed by precious father-song bonding time before it was time to sleep. It was systematic, but it worked. The new prayer-writing would be well integrated. 

Before Chan kissed Jeongin goodnight, he asked, “Can I see your prayer for God?” 

“Yep,” Jeongin handed him the messily folded paper in his chubby hands. 

Chan looked at his son’s scrawl, trying to decipher the words written by a five year old, before breaking into a chuckle upon reading the very first line of the letter. “Baby, you misspelled ‘dearest’.” In lieu of the ‘Dearest God’ that should’ve been at the top, Jeongin instead wrote ‘Deerest God’. Cute. 

“Huh?” Jeongin questioned, leaning over his dad’s arm to look at his letter. Chan pointed to the mistake. “Oh, that’s ok.”

“Remember that for tomorrow night, yeah?” Chan said, reading over the rest of the contents, eyes zoning in on another word. “A cat?”

“Yeah! I wanna cat but you don’t want one, so I’m asking God for one,” Jeongin said indignantly. 

“Alrighty then,” Chan leaned down to kiss his son’s forehead, “We’ll see by tomorrow. Goodnight, baby.” 

Chan really wasn’t expecting anything. Jeongin’s request was nothing short of a fantastical dream of a child. So, when he heard scratching at his front door in the morning while preparing their breakfast and lunch, he sincerely hoped his son’s prayers weren’t answered. Not only would it fuel the fire of Jeongin’s greatest desires, but he could not handle a feline walking around his house and leaving its mess everywhere. Unfortunately, that seemed to be Chan’s fate. 

“Oh my God,” Chan whispered, looking at the cat sitting in front of his door, eyeing him and meowing pointedly, “what the hell.” 

“Daddy! It’s a cat!” Jeongin squealed excitedly, hopping off his chair and bending down to pet it. “Can we keep it?” 

“Um…” Chan was not one to break Jeongin’s heart, but lines had to be drawn somewhere, “sorry, baby. I don’t think-” 

Chan yelped in surprise, cutting off his sentence when the cat stood up and sauntered into his house, “No, absolutely not, this cannot be happening.” Jeongin looked up at his dad, smiling and eyes mischievous as if saying ‘I told you so’. Chan would’ve taken the liberty to kick the goddamn cat out of the house if they weren’t running late due to its fiasco. 

At least Jeongin was happy. 

But his son seemed to realize the implications behind his requests for God. That night, Jeongin was bouncing up and down while writing his prayer, telling Chan how great his next question would be. He showed it to his dad, asking him to read it over and whether it was well executed. Chan inwardly cringed at the misspelling that appeared again, the ‘Deerest God’ written large and confidently, but he didn’t have the heart to school Jeongin again. 

“You’re asking for new books in your school library?” 

“Yeah, I read all of the books already and they haven’t bought new ones. I think my friends would like it too, Seungmin would really want that.” 

Chan sighed and ruffled his son’s hair. It warmed his heart to see Jeongin requesting something that would benefit an entire community but he was afraid of his reaction when it wouldn’t happen. Afterall, the cat was just a coincidence. Speaking of the cat, it was currently resting at the foot of Jeongin’s bed and resting its head on its paws, purring softly. That rascal. “I think that’s a really great request, baby. You’ll be helping out your entire school. But don’t be disappointed when it doesn’t happen, alright?”

Jeongin grinned, “Don’t worry, daddy, I’m sure it will. Floof agrees with me, right Floof?” 

“Floof?”

“The cat’s name!” 

Chan rolled his eyes with a smile, “Get some sleep, Jeongin.” 

Books couldn’t just magically materialize overnight. But the universe appeared to be testing Chan. 

The very next day, Jeongin came bounding to him when Chan came to pick him up from the daycare, “Daddy, guess what?” 

Chan didn’t like the impish look on his face, “What’s up?”

“My teacher told us that someone gave the school brand new books! There’s new books in the library now! My prayers are working!” 

“Oh,” Chan was baffled. He swore fate was playing with him, “That’s a bit puzzling. I wonder who gave them?” 

Later, Chan would check the news to see that Jeongin’s school truly gained new books for his library, kindly donated by a billionaire philanthropist who once attended the institution and wanted to show her thanks. Again, Chan thought, a pure coincidence. But an inkling of a doubt was planted in the back of his head. That night, Jeongin’s prayers included a playground for his school to replace their old, broken, and worn-down one. These coincidences couldn’t just be piling on top of each other; the third time would be the charm and break Jeongin’s streak of luck. 

***

“Daddy, guess what?” 

“Let me guess, they built a playground at school?” 

“They did! It was built really quickly and no one knows who did it. But we can all play there during recess now!” 

“That’s great, baby.” 

***

Chan started to question what he really knew about the world. Work had been stressful lately and giving him and his co-workers a run for their money, forcing him to veto his time with Jeongin after dinner to work on extra projects. And on top of that, his son apparently had some special connection to an omnipresent being who answered to his wishes. He was just thankful that the next day was Saturday, meaning time to sleep in and more time with Jeongin. 

“You have your prayer ready for tonight?” Chan asked after reading Jeongin his bedtime story. 

Jeongin snuggled deeper into his sheets, flashing Chan a playful smile, “I’m not showing you tonight. You’ll find out later.” 

“Oh, that’s new. Are you hiding something from me? Hmm?” Chan teased, nuzzling his nose against Jeongin’s. 

His son giggled, flapping his hands to get his dad away from his face, “No, I’m not! I said you’ll find out soon.” 

“If you say so, baby. Sleep tight.” 

Chan hoped that Jeongin didn’t pray for something ludicrous knowing that he would probably get it. Did he ask for a dog? Chan sure wished he didn’t. Floof was already a handful. Maybe a whole school renovation given his last prayers were concerning his school. That would be pretty nice. Whatever it was, he slept with anticipation. 

***

“Oh my _God_.”

Someone was pressing their doorbell every thirty seconds, echoing throughout their house and permeating its air, filling Chan with a sense of murder every time it went off. All Chan wanted to do was sleep in. 

Chan grumbled while pulling on a hoodie over his bare chest and sweats over his shorts when he was certain the ringing was not going to be stopping anytime soon. His hair probably looked like a rats nest but Chan had no pity for the person about to see him. It was what they deserved for waking him up at 8AM on a Saturday. 

Chan all but threw the door open, “How can I help you?” Immediately after his greeting, his jaw dropped at the sight in front of him. The most beautiful face he had ever seen was looking back, doe-eyes wide with unshed tears with a sharp nose that was probably sculpted by Aphrodite herself, but he didn’t want to assume. His pouted, red lips that trembled contrasted his pale, blemish-free skin. The most bizarre part wasn’t even the man’s outfit, a pale green linen outfit that should belong in a desert. Small, baby antlers sat on top of his head. Last time Chan checked, it was the beginning of March, no where near Halloween or Christmas. Unless Jeongin’s prayers were to time travel. 

Chan blinked before asking, “Are you part of some kind of religious cult?” 

“Are you Jeongin’s father?” 

“Yes, I am,” Chan cautiously answered, fully preparing to slam the door in the man’s face and calling 911. To his surprise, the man burst into tears and heaved sobs, hands coming up to rub at his eyes. “You ok?”

“Your son,” the man cries, “I haven’t received prayers in thousands of years and your son is the first I’ve gotten in a long time. He’s made me so happy and gave me a reason to exist again. I mean, who really needs a deer god, right?” 

At that moment, Chan was slowly closing the door, feet pointed towards the phone on the counter, “Yeah, man. I get you. Hey, how about you wait out here while I get something for you to drink, yeah?” 

“You don’t believe me,” he looked up through his lashes that clumped together with tears, “hold on.” The man fumbled through his pockets and held out a letter. “It’s a copy of Jeongin’s letters to me. He asked for a cat, right? Books and a playground?” 

Chan took the letters and looked them over. Sure enough, his son’s messy scrawl stared back at him, complete with the ‘Deerest God’. The man sniffed, wiping his face with his sleeve, “I’m sorry, please excuse me. I’m usually not this emotional, I swear I haven’t cried like this in a hundred years. You’d understand if you were suddenly remembered after thousands of years of silence.” 

“Look,” Chan sighed, tapping the letters against the palm of his hands, “I don’t know who you are or how you found us, let alone these letters, but-” 

“Daddy? What’s going on?” 

Chan turned to see Jeongin coming down the stairs, holding onto the banister with bleary eyes, “Go back to sleep, baby. Daddy’s just having a talk.” 

“Oh my Deers, are you Jeongin?” 

Jeongin glanced at the man standing outside, eyes suddenly filled with recognition and the corners of his mouth going upwards, “Are you the person I’ve been writing too?” 

“That’s me!” the man gasped. 

“When I asked for Floof and the books and the playground, that was all really you? Really?” 

“Yes!” he excitedly replied, pointing to himself, “that was me! I did all of that!” 

Jeongin ran, brushing past Chan as he tackled the man with a hug, “Thank you so much!” 

Chan stood at the door, puzzled beyond belief while his son and the stranger bonded over their connection and giggling to themselves. How was he supposed to tackle this situation? “Jeongin, baby, how do you know that’s the person you’ve been writing letters to?” 

Jeongin glanced back from his hug, “Because he’s the deer God, daddy. Can’t you see his antlers on his head?”

“The antlers?” Chan’s eyes bulged out. “No, those can’t be real. And you were misspelling ‘dearest’ on purpose?” 

“Yeah? If there’s a God, then there has to be Gods of different things, right?” 

“And,” the man added as he tugged on the objects on his head, “I think these are pretty real. I’m Minho, God of Deer if you haven’t caught on already. Now, you two go get ready while I prepare breakfast, how does that sound?” 

“I don’t think-”

“Ok! C’mon, daddy!” 

Jeongin grabbed Chan’s hand and practically dragged him up the stairs. Before they turned around the corner, Chan caught a glimpse of Minho making himself home, opening the fridge and cupboards as if he was truly about to make them a meal. He hoped Minho kept true to his word. Chan couldn’t help but wonder what the ‘God’s’ true intentions were, like, not all gods would make breakfast for mere mortals, right? The uneasy feeling made itself home in his gut as he brushed his teeth with Jeongin, who made visceral gagging noises on the toothpaste foam to get a kick out of his dad. It did. 

Like the prayers, Chan’s expectations were not high for the deer God’s breakfast, but like always, they were proven wrong. 

“Wow!” Jeongin exclaimed. Their kitchen island and table were covered with breakfast goodies - pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs, sugary cereal, waffles. Chan was pretty sure their fridge was not stocked with German sausages. While Chan stood with wonder, Jeongin ran to help Minho with setting the dishes for the three of them, not forgetting to place a bowl of water and cat food for Floof. Their house had never been filled with such a homely smell before. 

As Chan went to sit down, he asked, “Where did everything come from?” 

“You shouldn’t ask a god where their powers come from, Chan.”

“Wait, how do you know my name?” 

A wink. “Corporate secrets.” 

Chan helped Jeongin settle into his seat, taking the iPad and playing a cartoon while he cut up the sausage and pancakes for him, eyeing Minho who sat in front of Chan as the God poured syrup on his waffles and hummed happily, “So, I’m assuming you didn’t just come down here to give us breakfast.” 

“Nope. Oh,” Minho pointed to the bottle near Chan, “pass the ketchup, please. I don’t want my scrambled eggs boring.” 

Chan did so. He watched Minho unabashedly as he performed mundane actions that seemed unfitting for a God, waiting for his answer as Jeongin’s cartoon played in the background. “Well,” Minho said, licking his fingers, “it’s rather dull up There. I’m not exactly important, you know, God of Deer and whatnot. Jeongin’s prayers are the only ones I’ll be getting in a while, so why not come down here instead? I’ll be a personal assistant, maid, chaperone, whatever you want. I really need to get out too. My higher-ups probably won’t even know I’m gone.” 

“Daddy’s lonely and needs a partner, I think it’s a good idea,” Jeongin chimed in, still focused on Pororo’s adventures while stuffing pancakes into his mouth. Minho threw his head back with a laugh as Chan playfully shushed his son. 

“You don’t need to go around telling everyone that,” Chan chuckled. He let the atmosphere settle, making sure Jeongin was distracted by the iPad again. “I’m not very comfortable with that idea.” 

“How so?” 

“Well, first, you’re a stranger and I don’t know who you are. I can’t trust that you actually have powers, too.”

“The trust I can build,” Minho leaned forward, propping his chin up with his hand. “Say, what’s something you’ve had your eyes on recently? Anything, name it.” 

Chan racked through his head, “Um. I’ve been looking into getting a new vacuum. That darn cat leaves its fur everywhere on the couch and carpet. It’s a nightmare, I swear.” 

“Look behind you.” 

Sure enough, beside the kitchen island, the vacuum he had been eyeing online was staring straight back at him. He had lamented over its price due to it being the latest model and stacked with the newest technology, yet there it was. Chan faced Minho again, mouth gaping open and eyebrows raised in shock. Minho giggled, tilting his head and quirking a playful eyebrow.

“Well?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! please leave some love if you enjoyed :))
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/skimminh) too!! i don't bite and ifb <33


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next few weeks, Minho fell into their family routine. Chan didn't have to wake up early to make breakfast and lunch anymore - Minho was already up from the guest bed and humming in the kitchen, filling the house with the heavenly smell of food. All Chan had to do was prepare Jeongin for the day, and he didn’t even have to pick him up anymore, leaving it to Minho to collect his son and saving an extra twenty minute drive. Minho’s dinners were also decidedly much better and healthier than Chan’s. 

“Y’know, you can leave the dishes to me,” Minho commented after watching Chan and Jeongin wash the dishes for the umpteenth time, finally deciding to break the silence. It wasn’t like Minho couldn’t snap the dishes clean himself. 

Chan shot him a sheepish grin, “It’s fine, really. I like maintaining some sense of normalcy in this house and I feel bad for making you do everything. And besides,” Chan reached over to ruffle Jeongin’s hair with his dry hand, “it’s good to teach this squirt some chores early on.” 

Chan couldn’t interpret the way Minho looked at him during that moment. 

Also, Chan and Jeongin time became Chan, Jeongin, and Minho time. Board and card games had an extra player, there was a new helping hand while building Jeongin’s Lego city, and an extra space on the couch was occupied while watching movies or documentaries. 

“I brought popcorn!” Minho announced on one of those movie nights. He plopped onto the couch and gave Jeongin the bowl of snacks. “Middle person gets responsibility.” 

Jeongin stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, turning away from the deer God with a sly smile, “I’m not giving you any.” 

“What! How _dare_ you, mister,” Minho grinned, “Let’s see if you’ll give me my popcorn after this!” He pounced on Jeongin, stuffing his face into his stomach and tickling his sides, causing Jeongin to let out high pitched peals of laughter and retreat under his dad’s arms. If Chan didn’t take away the bowl in time, he definitely would’ve had to use the new vacuum. But he wasn’t complaining. 

Something about Jeongin and Minho’s dynamic fit. Chan noticed how Jeongin grew increasingly more comfortable with the other man, often clinging to him if Chan had extra work to do. One time, Chan was heading to Jeongin’s room for their nightly story and found that Minho had already beat him there and one upped him in the process. Instead of a traditional book, Minho projected a lightshow on his son’s ceiling, golden particles lighting up the dark room with a warm glow and falling gently down like snow while moving animatedly across the flat expanse. Eventually, he joined in on Minho’s magic, all three of them cuddled up in Jeongin’s bed and listening to Minho’s soothing voice telling the tales of gods, heroes, and deer. It was a tight fit, but Chan felt whole. He hoped Minho did too. 

The weirdest part, though, was Minho’s infatuation with Chan’s love life. 

“Hey, Channie, guess what I did?” Minho asked one night when Chan was slaving away at his piled work and Jeongin distracted with his Lego city. 

“Did you burn down a city while I was at work?” Chan answered, glancing up from this laptop. 

Minho rolled his eyes and held up Chan’s cellphone, “No, I did not. What I did do was create a Tinder profile for you. You’re welcome.” 

Chan blinked, “I thought you were the God of Deer, not the God of Love.” 

“Catch,” Minho lightly tossed the phone to Chan, then played with his antlers on his head. “Even these bad boys can sense you’re in need of a good lay.”

“Shh! Not in front of the child!” Chan whisper-shouted, shooting a wide eyed glance to Jeongin who remained innocently ignorant to the background conversation. Besides the Tinder profile creation, Minho would constantly ask Chan if he was finding a date or when he’d find someone for Jeongin. It was strange but Chan didn’t question it. 

***

“Alright guys, how ‘bout a trip to the mall today?” Chan announced on a Sunday morning. 

“Ok!” Jeongin responded through a mouthful of cereal. 

Minho looked up from his pancakes with a puzzled face, “I could just get some clothes for you right now if you need them?” 

“Thanks for the offer, Minho, but I think it’d be pretty fun if all of us go on an outing. Besides, when’s the last time you visited a shopping mall?” 

“Ten, fifteen years ago,” Minho answered and before Chan could strengthen his point, Minho held up a finger. “Maybe a long time for you guys, but it’s like it was just a few months ago for me.” 

Chan was thankful the deer God had a compliant personality, ending up in the nearest shopping centre soon after. 

The area was quite busy for a Sunday morning. But no matter where they went, Minho was always forced to wear a hat, much to his chagrin, to minimize the odd stares sent his way concerning the antlers on his head. Chan had asked if Minho could cover it up with his godly magic, but Minho refused to even humour Chan, claiming that doing so would be like taking away his whole identity. Minho wore a multitude of different hats out and today, it was a black bucket hat. Chan wondered when that had come back in fashion. 

“I really like your hat, Minho,” Jeongin giggled, finding it amusing like Chan. 

“Thank you, I picked it out myself,” Minho said proudly, adjusting his hat. “Now, what type of things are you guys looking for?” 

“Jeongin needs t-shirts and pants - he’s been growing too much lately,” Chan listed off. “We can head to the Children’s Place, they have good stuff there.” 

Minho grabbed Jeongin’s hand, “Lead on, Captain!” 

Chan was never good at shopping; he had left it to his ex-wife before she left. Jeongin’s entire closet had been picked by her, including some of his own outfits. Fashion never really came to him too. It truly was a blessing to have Minho guide Jeongin around the store, holding up t-shirts against his son’s body and giving Chan the items of clothing that he wanted Jeongin to try on later. 

“Ooo, that looks really cute on you! What do you think, Channie?” Minho exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Jeongin had exited the change room with Minho dressed in denim overalls - that was not on the list of things to buy - and looking incredibly cute. Chan couldn’t help but coo, wondering why he never adventured outside of the simple shirt and pants. 

“I think we should get it, what do you think Jeongin?” Chan said, resisting the urge to take a picture with his phone. 

“Minho has a better fashion sense than you,” Jeongin retorted before stalking back inside the changing room, presumably to change out of the overalls himself. 

“He’s gotten independent,” Minho remarked. “You think he was fashion deprived because of you?” 

Chan laughed, slinging an arm around Minho’s shoulders, “I’d be surprised if he wasn’t.” Chan didn’t miss the faint, blush that seemed to be lightly dusted on Minho’s cheeks when he looked towards him. Now that Chan thought of it, their situation did seem especially domestic. Thinking Minho was uncomfortable, he began slowly retracting his arm to provide some distance, stopped only when Minho grabbed his dangling hand. 

“Looks like you’ll be needing me for that in the future, huh?” Minho said, turning towards him with a shy twinkle in his eyes. 

With their faces inches apart, Chan had forgotten just how pretty the other man was. Suddenly nervous, Chan gulped and averted his eyes to anywhere but Minho’s dazzling doe eyes or moistened lips, heart skipping a beat, “Looks like it.” 

They quickly untangled themselves upon Jeongin’s sudden reappearance. 

At the checkout, they were greeted by a bored teen and, when Chan flashed his credit card, sighed and said, “Sorry sir, our credit system isn’t working right now. I can either take cash or put these items on hold for pickup tomorrow.”

“Oh crap, I don’t have any cash on me.” 

“No worries, I got this,” Minho said, pulling out a wad of bills from his pocket. Chan was a pretty unobservant man, but he definitely knew that money was not there before. 

“That can’t be good for the economy,” Chan murmured with a mixture of awe and horror, watching Minho perform the transaction with the employee.

“Why’s that?”

“Keep this up and you’ll be the main reason why our country’s inflation rate goes up this year.”

“I’ll be discreet, don’t worry.” 

“Sure.”

***

“Can you show us your deer powers, Minho?” Jeongin asked once they returned to the car. 

Minho hummed, “There’s a lot of deer up north from here. I can show you, if that’s ok?” Minho directed his question to Chan with a raised eyebrow. 

“Fine by me, just show me where to go.” 

They ended up in a nature reserve-esqe area, woodland surrounding them with the sun’s rays peeking through the breaking in the budding foliage high above. The air was crisp and fresh, a stark contrast from where they came from the mall in the middle of the dense and polluted city. It was a perfect spring day. Chan watched Minho relax and immerse in the atmosphere and the deer God took a deep breath, exhaling with a smile in full bloom, seemingly emitting a sort of energy that Chan felt resonate deep within his core but could not describe. So, this was the power of a god in his element. “Come, this way,” Minho called out, setting off onto a hiking trail. Chan grabbed Jeongin’s hand and followed the deer God’s path. 

“Minho is really cool,” Jeongin whispered. Chan knew his son didn’t have the vocabulary to fully communicate his feelings, but he knew Jeongin was in awe, words laced with admiration for the man. 

“Yeah, I think so too.” 

“Here we are,” Minho announced, turning around with his hands on his hip, “this is the perfect place.” 

Jeongin furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t see anything happening.” 

Minho’s laugh sounded like a wind chime in their current environment, “I called out to them already, but my presence alone would’ve attracted them. Try to be quiet, they’re shy creatures, but don’t be afraid to touch them. They’re very gentle beings.”

Rustling sounds surrounded them. Behind a birch tree, antlers poked out. Then, footsteps. Soon, they were enveloped in a tight hug of deer of all sizes, forming a protective circle around them as they one-by-one approached Minho in a sort of greeting. The large, towering deer stood to the back as the smaller ones, including fawns, stood near the front. Jeongin couldn’t help but reach out to pet one of the fawns, who in return nuzzled the palm of his hand. Chan grazed his hand on one of the antlers. 

“These little guys are my best friends,” Minho breathed out, kissing the deer in front of him. “No matter where I am in the world, I’ve got company.” 

Chan’s breath caught in his throat upon peering at Minho. He was truly captivating, a soft smile gracing his face as he pressed his forehead against multiple antlers, seemingly communicating with the deer in a way Chan didn’t understand but realized the degree of intimacy he was witnessing. “You’re amazing, Minho.” 

Minho grinned, petting a deer’s head, “My friend here thinks the same for you as well.” 

“No, really,” Chan protested and, thinking his point wasn’t getting across, gently grasped Minho’s free hand and turned the deer God towards him, “thank you for everything you’ve done, it’s truly selfless. I think more people should know about the God of deer.”

“And I think you deserve the best dad award,” Minho said. “I’ve been alive for aeons, but your bond with Jeongin is one of a kind. It’s something special.”

“Daddy! Can we take this baby home?” Jeongin’s voice rang out through the forest. He was hugging a poor fawn who looked like it wanted to reunite with its mother. 

Minho chortled, “I think Tahnee wants to go back to her mom, Jeonginnie. We can always come back and visit though.” 

Jeongin reluctantly let the fawn go, expression falling, “At least Tahnee has a mom.” 

Chan pursed his lips. He didn’t expect the atmosphere to turn awry, especially with all the curious deer around them, and really did not want to talk about his ex in their serene environment. Minho glanced between them worriedly, knowing it was unmarked territory that he hadn’t mapped yet and stayed silent, wordlessly encouraging Chan with a squeeze to their still linked hands. “Hey, baby, how about we say goodbye to the deer and bake some treats when we get home?” 

Jeongin noticeably perked up, “Cookies?” 

“Cookies, cupcakes, anything you want.”

“Promise?” 

“Promise.” 

Minho beamed, “Leave the ingredients to me.” 

Chan was confident nothing would bring them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again and thanks for reading!! we're gonna get serious in the coming chapters lmao. comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :))


	3. Chapter 3

Chan thought everything could only go uphill from Minho’s arrival. It didn’t seem that way when Jeongin began to distance himself from Chan. 

Jeongin had began to grow quiet, his normal bursts of small, interesting facts, rants, and lively conversations dwindling over time. Chan wondered what happened to his son that caused him to transform from a cheerful six year old, bustling with unbridled energy to a shy, mousy kid who seemed indifferent and afraid. 

“Hey, baby. How was school today?” Chan asked Jeongin after picking him up from school. Chan had asked his boss for early departure for the week, citing a family emergency, and told Minho he would be handling pickup during that duration in order to get to the bottom of Jeongin’s change. 

“It was good,” Jeongin said in a tone too monotonous to be coming from his son, buckling himself in the car. 

“Just good?” Chan coaxed softly with a raised eyebrow. “Nothing happened?” 

“Yeah, we just did stuff.” 

“Alrighty, then. What about Hyunjin and Seungmin? You haven’t mentioned them at all yet.” 

“They’re in grade one now. I don’t see them a lot anymore.” 

Oh, that’s right. Jeongin was a year younger than his best friends so as the new school year rolled by, Jeongin was still stuck in kindergarten. “I think they found other friends to play with,” Jeongin muttered. Maybe Jeongin was missing Hyunjin and Seungmin, or possibly experiencing his first taste of jealousy? 

“We can arrange a playdate with them, how about that?” 

“Ok,” Jeongin replied. Chan picked up on his indifference and lack of interest in the proposition. 

“Is there anything else you want to tell me, baby? It seems like something’s been bothering you.” 

“Nothing’s bothering me!” Jeongin erupted with a shout, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “Can you stop asking?” 

Chan was taken aback from his outburst. It was the first time he ever yelled at Chan and the first time to show anger and annoyance towards him. Chan was about to scold Jeongin for not using his indoor voice and the violent upheaval, but a glance at his rearview mirror showed his son staring out of the car’s window, eyes shining with unshed tears. He decided to leave it until they got home. 

As soon as he pulled into the driveway, Jeongin slammed the car door shut and ran into their house, kicking off his shoes and leaving them sprawled across the floor. “Hey, Jeonginnie! How was school today?” Minho asked, greeting them at the door while mixing a bowl of who knows what. Jeongin ignored Minho’s question, instead brushing past the God and retreating into his room upstairs, closing his door with a bang. 

“Not good,” Minho echoed with a pout, turning to Chan and still mixing his concoction, “I’m guessing you didn’t get through with him.” 

Chan sighed, leaning against the doorway and pinching the bridge of the nose to will the symptoms of an oncoming headache away. He had been getting those lately. “Nope,” Chan exhaled, toeing off his dress shoes and stalking into the kitchen for a glass of water and Advil. “He yelled at me in the car on the way here. He never does that! How am I supposed to help him if he doesn’t tell me what’s wrong? I’m terrible, Minho, everything I do just seems to aggravate him and worsen the situation.” Chan popped the Advil in his mouth and chugged the water. 

“Hey,” Minho said gently, placing his mixture on the kitchen island to rub Chan’s back in slow circles, “I’m sure whatever Jeongin’s going through is temporary. I know you’re frustrated, hell, I am too, but he’ll come around and tell us sooner or later. It’s not your fault, Channie. You’ve been amazing so far.” 

Chan bit his lip and, in a moment of pure emotional vulnerability, turned to Minho, wrapping his arms around his waist and tugging him closer, burrowing his face into the crevice between his neck and shoulder and breathed, their chests touching and heartbeats joining to match the same rhythm. Minho smelled like nature; sandalwood and earthy scents filled his nostrils. It smelled of home. “I can’t disappoint Jeongin. Not after she left,” Chan whispered into Minho’s neck. “I’m scared.” 

“It’s ok to be afraid and it’s ok to fall,” Minho murmured back, wrapping his own arms around Chan and running his fingers through his hair. He had understood the implications of Chan’s confession, unpacking its layers to find its true, underlying meaning. A meaning that Chan might have not interpreted himself. “The two of you are tight as thieves. It’d be hard for anything to sour the affinity you have for each other, trust me. Give Jeongin some time.” 

In moments like those, Chan had forgotten just how wise Minho was. He had forgotten that he was centuries older than him, with more wisdom and experience accumulated he could ever imagine. “Has he talked to you?” 

“No, not yet. It’ll come, Channie. All you need is a little patience.” 

And come, it did. Just, Chan was not on the receiving end of it. 

After a silent, heavy dinner with Minho filling in the gaps of quiet with jokes and remarks that brought a faint smile to Jeongin’s lips, Jeongin once again returned to his room, saying that he’d be reading. 

Minho finished his dinner quickly, practically inhaling it, and stood up with a smile, “I’ll go talk to him, see how he’s doing.” 

Chan sent him a strained smile back. After watching Minho disappear up the stairs, he discarded Minho’s (delicious) dinner. He didn’t have an appetite, too worried over Jeongin’s condition to eat. He busied himself with cleaning up, washing the dishes and vacuuming the floors, even spending some time with Floof as he worked on extra material from his job that he missed from his early departure. Eventually, all his dilly-dallying led into bedtime for Jeongin. Chan steeled himself to venture into his son’s bedroom to wish him goodnight, something he hadn’t done before and upon his approach, he heard the soft voices of Minho and Jeongin mingling together. He realized Minho had been in there all evening. The door was slightly ajar and Chan elected to stand outside to listen in. 

“ - something up, buddy? You’ve been a bit distant lately.” Minho’s voice was high and lilting. 

“I guess,” Jeongin. He sounded reluctant. Chan peered inside and saw Jeongin under his blanket, playing with his fingers. Minho lied on top of the sheets, cradling his son in his side and the sides of their heads touching. 

“You can tell me whenever you want. I don’t want to force you, but don’t let it build up, ok? Me and your daddy are here for you.” 

“It’s just,” Jeongin’s hands fell onto his bed, “Hyunjin and Seungmin are gone and I don’t have anyone to play. And…” 

“Hmm? Is there something else?”

“There’s a new kid in class.” 

“What about them?” 

“He keeps teasing me. I don’t like it.” 

Chan’s breath hitched. He clenched his fists to keep his composure, knowing where the story will go. 

“How does he tease you?” Minho gently questioned, tucking a stray hair behind Jeongin’s ear. 

“He pushes and kicks me during recess and pulls my hair. I think he calls me mean names and backstabs me because everyone else doesn’t want to play with me anymore.” 

Chan fought back tears. He felt powerless. Chan could see that Minho had tensed up, his caring hand that was playing with Jeongin’s hair stopping before continuing again. “Do you know why he’s bullying you? It’s not very nice of him to be doing those things,” Minho asked through gritted teeth. 

“I told him I didn’t have a mom. Maybe that’s why, but I don’t know,” Jeongin whispered. Chan swore under his breath. 

“Thank you for telling me, Jeongin. Why didn’t you tell your daddy about this in the car?”

Chan heard Jeongin sigh, “Daddy’s always busy and I don’t wanna make him sad anymore or worry about me. He’s already doing a lot.” 

“Your daddy will always make time for you. And don’t worry about that bully anymore, Minho will take care of him,” Minho smirked, leaning in to kiss Jeongin’s forehead. “Goodnight, Jeonginnie.” 

Minho found Chan standing outside the door and slightly startled at his frozen stature from all the revelations. He gazed at Chan empathetically, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading them to the couch downstairs, “How are you doing?” 

Chan let out a pitiful laugh, “I’m so useless. I can’t even protect my own son.”

Minho shifted closer to Chan, thighs touching, and brought Chan’s head down to rest on his shoulder. He hummed, telling Chan that he was listening. “No matter what we do, my ex is always being brought back into the equation.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, but what happened with her? You don’t have to tell if you’re not comfortable.” 

“No,” Chan refused, “you’ve been a part of our family for what, nearly a year now? You deserve to know.” Chan took a deep breath, feeling Minho take his hand and rub a soothing thumb over his palm. “Elizabeth and I got married pretty quickly at a young age. In hindsight, that was probably a reckless move. Young, broke, and stupid, but anything for love, right? I got a job and she started her business. We had Jeongin, which is probably the best moment of my life. 

“She started to distance herself after his birth. I don’t know why, perhaps postpartum depression, and I tried to help her. But a year after Jeongin was born, she left saying that she ‘fell out of love’ with me and needed something new. Honestly, during that year, I started to feel the same. We filed for divorce and she gave me custody of Jeongin without a fight. She left me with a one year old to take care of and I haven’t heard from her since. Her family cut off ties with me and my family back in Korea didn’t want to help. It’s been hard.” 

“That sounds pretty crappy. Have you told Jeongin?”

Chan cracked a grin, “Yeah, it was crappy. And messy. I spared Jeongin some details but he knows his mom left. I don’t like lying to him. Everything’s been a lot lighter since you’ve got here, so thank you.” 

“No problem,” Minho kissed the top of his head. “Jeongin’s a smart and emotional kid, just like you. You’ve done a lot for each other.”

“You told Jeongin you were going to take care of his bully. Care to enlighten me?” Chan demanded playfully to lighten the depressing mood. 

“I told you before, Channie. Corporate secrets.” 

“Oh my god. Please don’t beat up the little kids.” 

“No promises.” 

***

Whatever Minho did, it worked. Jeongin was ecstatic, bouncing off the walls as he and Minho came out of the school together with bouts of giggles between them. Chan leaned against his car, arms crossed as he watched the spectacle with fondness. 

Later, as Jeongin watched cartoons while chewing on celery, Chan cornered Minho in the kitchen. 

“I didn’t beat up anyone, I swear,” Minho defended, raising up his hands in surrender but with a smirk. “Ok, maybe his teachers, but just a tiny bit.”

Chan laughed, “Really, what did you do, Minho?” 

“I found Jeongin’s bully last night when you two were asleep. I didn’t do anything, I just sent him dreams of a huge, ugly monster chasing him with Jeongin on its shoulder. I think I made it a tad bit too violent when I made the monster eat the bodies of his parents.” 

“Minho!” Chan was scandalized but he wasn’t complaining. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Minho guffawed. “It was too tempting. Jeongin told me the bully didn’t even look towards him once and avoided him all day and his friends started to talk to him again. I told his teacher about the incidents and they’ll be calling home and disciplining.” 

Chan surged forward, engulfing him in a hug. He tilted his head so that his lips were just barely touching Minho’s neck, “Thank you so much.” 

“It’s nothing, Channie. I had a lot of fun.” 

“Are you sure you’re the God of Deer? I think mischief would do a lot better.” 

“Oh, shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> formatting notes on ao3 gives me an aneurysm lmao. thanks for reading once again !! one more chapter to go and it's gonna be the longest one!! like always, kudos and comments are superr appreciated <33


	4. Chapter 4

Chan stuck true to his promise to Jeongin, arranging a playdate with Hyunjin’s parents so the Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin gang could be reunited. And, Hyunjin and Seungmin seemed to make new friends in their grade, their parents mentioning that they would be inviting a Felix and Jisung over as well. Jeongin was over the moon. The arrangement had left a Sunday all to Chan and Minho. 

“Hey, Minho. I think you’ve been cooped up in this house for a while. Let’s go out,” Chan proposed after dropping off Jeongin. 

“On a date?” 

Chan spluttered and turned red, “Uh, I didn’t mean - I mean if you want -” 

Minho let out a laugh, “Joking, joking. I’ll leave this day in your hands.” 

Chan decided to take Minho around the city, first to the amusement park. It was packed with people, forcing Minho to wear his god awful bucket hat around to conceal his antlers. 

“I’m starting to think you wear that just to annoy me,” Chan claimed. 

“Nonsense,” Minho grinned. “I haven’t been to an amusement park since Dyrehavsbakken’s opening.”

“Dyrehave - what?” 

“It’s Danish. Apparently you guys have been calling it the oldest amusement park in the world. So, where to, Channie?” 

“We should get some cotton candy!” Chan said, dragging Minho over to the stand on their right. After refusing Minho’s offer to pay in order to save their country’s economy, they were off, both with huge plumes of the sweet confectionary in their hands. Chan felt like he was back in high school again and on his first date, but he wasn’t nervous. Minho’s presence was comforting and rather than shy away from him, Chan found himself seeking it out no matter where they were. For the first time in a while, he was reminded of how it felt to be carefree. 

“Wow, those are _huge_ roller coasters,” Minho exclaimed, eyes bulging out at the extent of some of the rides. 

“Let’s do something less extreme, yeah?” Chan snickered. “Oh, the ferris wheel! C’mon!” 

“Oh, yeah, ferris wheel,” Minho said, eyes darting around. 

Chan grabbed Minho’s hand to lead them to the giant wheel, “Have you been on one?” 

“It’s a first for me,” they clambered onto the pod, Minho gripping Chan’s hand in a vice-like grip, going further to grasp Chan’s forearm with his other arm even as they sat down. The pod swung lightly as they began to gain altitude. “Actually, I’ve avoided them like the plague.” 

Chan, growing concerned, said, “Huh? Minho, you alright?” The deer God was sweating under his bucket hat and still holding Chan’s arm under his arrest. 

“I, uh,” Minho breathed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back and accidentally scraping the glass with his antlers, “might’ve forgotten to tell you about my fatal flaw.” He squeaked as the pod swayed with a rough gust of wind with them being a few meters off the ground. “Heights.” 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I forgot! And you looked happy so I didn’t want to take that away.” 

Chan looked down. They were barely a quarter of the way there. “Well, you better hang on, then.” 

“How I wish I could teleport back onto the ground,” Minho groaned out through clenched teeth, eyes still squeezed shut. “Deers were not meant to fly and neither am I.” 

Chan couldn’t help but chuckle at Minho’s predicament as pitiful as it was. He placed a comforting hand over Minho’s as they awaited their departure from the pod, “Hey, you can see the ocean from here.” 

“To hell with that,” Minho’s forehead was pressed up to Chan’s shoulder, trying to make himself as small as he could. It was ironic to see such a strong god so weak and fragile. Chan thought Minho looked incredibly adorable, cowering in fear and seeking the comfort of his sturdy body in his little bucket hat. Maybe Chan was sadistic for thinking that. 

Once they reached the ground, Chan bought Minho a hot dog as compensation for his actions. While Minho munched away, he suggested going into the haunted house. Chan, not wanting to look like a coward himself, agreed. Unfortunately, a coward was all he was. He came out with a sheen of sweat lining his skin, hand gripping tight onto Minho’s in a turn of events. 

“Ah ha! The tides have turned!” Minho proclaimed joyfully. Minho wasn’t shocked by any of the jumpscares, instead laughing at the employee’s attempts at scaring their customers. “Don’t think I didn’t catch you feeling all superior and mighty up on that ferris wheel.”

“Ugh, please erase all images of me screaming from your memory.” 

After wandering the amusement park, they decided to have a stroll in the city centre. “I’ve spent too long up There. How come everything’s changing so fast?” Minho wondered out loud. 

“When was the last time you came down?” 

“Maybe early 2000s, possibly later. I can’t really keep track of time while up There.” 

“Wow, that’s crazy. Wait, have you tried bubble tea before? I think it became a trend during your time up There.” 

“Bubble tea? I think I heard of it before, never had it.” 

“We are _so_ buying it.” 

They entered a small shop, Chan fishing out his credit card to purchase the bubble tea - one original, milk tea for Minho and one mango for Chan - when Minho gasped. Concerned, Chan asked, “What’s wrong?” 

“Where did the wires go?” 

“Wires?” Chan looked up at the ceiling for overhanging or exposed electrical wires.

“No, look there,” Minho whispered, swatting at his arm to look at a customer sitting at a table with her friends, AirPods in while looking at her phone and sipping on her bubble tea.

Chan snickered, paying for their drinks, “Those are AirPods, it’s Apple’s new craze.” 

“Technology is truly getting out of hand,” Minho said. He took the milk tea that Chan was holding out to him and took a gulp from its straw and chewed on the tapioca pearls. “Mmm. But new food inventions _definitely_ aren’t. It’s super good, Channie. Why haven’t I tried this earlier?” 

After the amusement park, the bubble tea stop, and roaming the city, the sun began to set. Chan came up with a genius idea, “Hey, let’s go down to the beach to watch the sunset.” 

The sun was nearly at the horizon when they found an isolated part of the beach away from many of the tourists and locals. Small waves were gently lapping at the shoreline, the ocean brightening up from the setting sun and colouring it and the sky in reds, oranges, and indigos. If Chan looked closely, he could see a few stars and planets blinking in the atmosphere, struggling to show themselves against the city’s dense light pollution. When he glanced at Minho, he was awash in the sunset’s light, eyes impossibly reflecting the dull shine of the sun and the celestial objects. Minho was absolutely, hopelessly beautiful and, perhaps, Chan was absolutely, hopelessly in love. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a sunset on Earth. Like, a true, picturesque sunset, you know what I mean?” Minho said, resting his head on Chan’s shoulder, his antlers tickling Chan’s jaw. 

“It must’ve been very boring up There.” 

“Like you wouldn’t believe it.” 

Chan let out a content sigh, “I really am indebted to you, Minho. Has anyone ever told you how great you are?” 

“In the past, constantly. No one has time for a deer God anymore today, though,” Minho joked. 

“I’ll give you all of my time.” 

“What about Jeonginnie?” Minho asked lightheartedly, giving Chan a little shove.

“You and Jeongin.” 

“Better.” 

They sat in silence, bathing in the dying light and enjoying each other’s presence before Chan broke again, “Everything’s been a lot better recently. Jeongin makes me happy already, I love him too much. But I’ve been feeling happier lately. I know I’ve said this too many times, but thank you, Minho.” Chan’s hand came up to unconsciously play with Minho’s small antlers as he poured out his heart to him. 

Chan felt Minho pause underneath him and he wondered if he went too far with his heartfelt sentiments before feeling Minho suddenly twist his head, pecking the corner of Chan’s lips before drawing back with a shy smile, cheeks and ears flushed, “All this time, you’ve been thanking me, so hear me out just this once.” Minho’s hand slinked down Chan’s arm to intertwine their fingers together. 

“Thank you for giving me a reason to live.” 

***

The universe was fucking with him. Oh, it had to be fucking with him. 

Chan thought things would be merrier, that his relationship with Minho would progress into something deeper from their beach excursion from the day before. But the universe was fucking with him. 

Minho was gone. Vanished. Poof. 

Chan didn’t hear the sound of Minho’s humming when he woke up - the first sign of something gone terribly wrong. The lack of a wafting breakfast smell was the second. Chan had jolted up from his bed and ran into the guest room that acted as Minho’s bedroom, finding it void of the deer God. The sheets were untouched, not a wrinkle. He ran downstairs, hoping Minho was pranking them. Nothing. Minho was a transparent guy, he wouldn’t just run off without telling Chan or Jeongin of it. His disappearance was unusual for his character. Chan had to ignore the clawing feeling at his heart and gut and the flying, jumbled thoughts in his mind, steeled himself, and went to clean himself up and prepare his and Jeongin’s breakfast and lunch for the day. 

As he was nearly done with preparations, he heard soft footsteps padding down the stairs. “Daddy? Where’s Minho?” Jeongin asked, eyes awake and alert. He was already changed, backpack in his hands. 

“I don’t know, baby,” Chan answered truthfully. “Breakfast is ready.” 

Jeongin clambered into his seat but didn’t move to eat his scrambled eggs. Chan noticed his reluctance as he sits down beside from him, “Hey, baby, you ok?” 

A sniffle. Then, a fountain of tears and sobs from his son, “Why did Minho leave? I want Minho back.” Jeongin sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve. Chan’s heart broke in two. 

“Oh, baby, I know,” Chan murmured, wrapping Jeongin in his arms and bringing his small body against his chest, pressing small kisses into the top of his head, “I know. I miss Minho too, but I’m sure he’ll be back. He probably had an emergency and needed to go straight away. He’ll come back, baby. I promise.” Chan didn’t know whether he was reassuring Jeongin or the both of them. 

Chan’s change in demeanor affected him throughout the day. It was so severe that his coworkers picked up on it. 

“Hey, Chan. What’s going on? You’ve gotten so cheerful this past year, it’s the first I’ve seen you like this in a while,” Yugyeom said during their lunch break. 

“Some stuff at home,” Chan waved him off, “don’t worry about it. It’ll blow over.” 

“I hope it blows over by tomorrow. I want our cutie Chan back as soon as we can,” Changbin said through a mouthful of rice. 

It seemed to extend to Jeongin too. Chan had to talk to his boss again to give him an early leave due to his family emergency once again, picking up Jeongin right after school. Jeongin came out of the school with a sullen atmosphere, eyes puffy and making eye contact with the ground. His teacher summoned Chan for a talk, asking if everything was ok at home since Jeongin’s sudden morose personality had the staff concerned. 

Chan practically had to force dinner down Jeongin that evening, but he couldn’t blame his son. He had to sing Jeongin to sleep that night as he was fitful and frightened by the possibility that Minho wouldn’t return. Again, Chan called ditto. 

Chan stayed up that night. He spent it in the living room, most lights turned off save for a few nightlights, accompanied by the TV that provided its ambience and played at a soft volume and becoming background noise to Chan’s thoughts. On the couch, he caught up with his work and, surprisingly, finished up future work for his job. Floof had joined him, curling up and snoozing away at the corner of the couch as if sensing Chan’s somber attitude. He desperately searched for a conclusion. Why had Minho left? It obviously had to be urgent. Or, maybe he grew bored of him and Jeongin. No, Chan shook his head. Minho wasn’t like that. He had spent too much time with him to know that he wasn’t the type of person. These theories permeated his brain, unwilling to disappear just like Minho did. He waited for Minho to come back. 

It was nearly two in the morning, Chan dozing off and trying to shake the sleeping bouts away when Minho suddenly materialized in the middle of the living room. His arrival was silent and Chan only registered it when he heard a soft cry. Minho was crying. Why was Minho crying so hard? And where were his antlers? 

Chan didn’t question Minho, “Oh, darling, come here.” He enveloped Minho in his arms, helping him to the sofa where he sank into the cushions, curling into a fetal position and sobbing quietly into the leather, choking and gasping for air. Chan sat beside him and guided Minho’s head onto his lap, tenderly running a hand through his hair, missing the antlers that once poked out, and the other hand rubbing soothing circles into his shoulder. Minho whimpered into his hoodie and clutched the material tightly in his fists. Chan was tearing up - his heart was wrenched by the sight of Minho ruined, the visceral moans of sorrow hitting his gut unpleasantly; he wished he could alleviate it. His cries eventually subsided into small hiccups. 

“I’m sorry I ruined your shirt,” Minho sniffed, his grasp on Chan’s hoodie loosening. 

“Don’t worry about my shirt, darling. Are you ok?” 

“I’m don’t know right now.” 

“That’s ok. Can I ask what happened?”

“Yeah,” Minho mumbled, face still burrowed into Chan’s stomach, taking in a stuttering breath. “I was exiled to Earth.” 

Chan stilled, “What?” 

“My superior’s removed me from up There. They took away my status of God of Deer and stripped me of my powers. At least I still have a little bit of my power left since its inherent to my being.” 

“Fuck,” Chan breathed out. That explained the lack of antlers. “For what reason?” 

Minho froze up before letting out a dry, hoarse laugh, “Multiple reasons, really. I’m not needed, I’m worthless. They just don’t want me anymore, they don’t need me. Who needs a fucking deer God? They didn’t want their resources wasted on a pointless god. Guess I’m aging like a mortal now.” 

“Oh, darling. You weren’t a useless god. You’ve helped me and Jeongin out the past year. If you count that as worthless I can’t help but be offended,” Chan quipped, hoping to see a smile on Minho’s face again. It worked slightly; Chan could see the corner of his mouth twitch.

“What was the other reason? You said there were multiple,” Chan said delicately, not wanting to send Minho spiralling into his depression again. 

“I,” Minho paused, burrowing his face deeper into Chan’s hoodie, “can’t tell you. It’s too much.” 

“It’s no problem, darling. You tell me whenever you want, if you even want to, yeah?” Chan reassured. He felt Minho nod against his stomach. Chan leaned down to brush Minho’s hair away and placed a kiss on his temple, taking Minho’s small hands into his large ones and gently caressed it. “You’re welcome to stay here. Jeongin and I would never leave you, darling. Not ever. You’re unfortunately stuck with us.” 

Minho snorted. Victory. He finally raised his head to look at Chan only for his eyebrows to furrow with worry, “Why are you crying Channie?” 

Chan blinked in surprise, touching his cheeks and coming back with wet fingertips. “Because I see you crying!” 

The man on his lap finally let out his signature high-pitched giggle, cuddling closer to Chan’s body, “You’re so cute.” 

Apparently they passed out on the couch as Chan awoke the next morning to the sunlight streaming in from the windows and hitting his and Minho’s face. He had shifted from an upright seated position to laying down on the couch, Minho’s body laying on top of him, arms wrapped around his torso and head against the thumping of his heart. Floof slept soundly between their legs. Chan couldn’t help himself and his irresistible urge to touch Minho, tracing his facial features with his fingers. Down the slope of his nose, across his plump lips. Chan was shaken out of his stupor when Minho began to rouse. 

“Good morning, darling,” Chan whispered with his morning voice, chuckling when a tiny moan escaped from Minho when he stretched his limbs out. 

“You’re the greatest pillow, Channie,” Minho sighed. 

There was a sudden, violent, and loud pattering of footsteps and, before Chan could fully interpret what it was, another body threw itself onto the pile on the couch. 

“Minho!” Jeongin cried. 

“Jeonginnie! I’m so sorry I disappeared,” Minho apologized. They shifted their positions so they were sitting, allowing Minho to fully embrace Jeongin in a hug. 

“I missed you so much. Where did your antlers go?” 

Chan was about to stop Jeongin there to spare Minho the pain, but Minho gave him a look before spilling to Jeongin and said, “Minho got in trouble with his higher ups and this is the punishment. I can’t do the things I could do before anymore because of it, Jeonginnie. I’m really sorry.” 

“I don’t care about your stupid powers,” Jeongin sniffled, hugging Minho impossibly tighter. “I’m happy that you’re back. Please don’t leave anymore.” 

“I promise I’ll never leave.” 

Chan watched Minho tear up at Jeongin’s confession, feeling his eyes water up as well. School and work could wait. He joined in on the hug, enjoying their content and warm atmosphere. 

***

“Well, someone’s a lot chippier today,” Changbin said a week later, placing his files on Chan’s desk. 

“Are you complaining?” 

“Definitely not. Our cutie Chan is back!” 

“I swear,” Yugyeom exclaimed, rolling into Chan’s work area on his chair, “there’s a special someone he’s seeing. There has to be.” 

Yugyeom, his ever attentive friend. Chan shrugged with a laugh, “Perhaps.”

When he arrived home, he was greeted with blasting rock music from the 80’s blasting from the speakers, Jeongin and Minho having an epic dance battle in the middle of the living room. “What is going on here?” 

“Channie!” Minho yelled over the music, bundling over to grab Chan by the hand and pulled him to the middle of the battle arena, “I’m competing with Jeonginnie right now and he’s winning. I need some backup so you’re on my side.” 

“No fair!” Jeongin stood flabbergasted. “That’s not fair! I’m getting Floof!” He hightailed it up the stairs to search for the feline. The high, energetic rock music ended and led into a slow, soft song still from the same time period. Chan raised a suggestive eyebrow at Minho who, in return, wiggled his back. Chan brought Minho closer to him, their noses touching and breaths mingling as they rocked back and forth to the music in the background, becoming a whitenoise as they got lost in each other’s eyes while wrapped up in each other’s scents.

Halfway through the song, Minho abruptly sighed and broke the eye contact, finding the floor a lot more interesting than Chan. “I can’t hold it in anymore.” 

Chan hooked a finger under Minho’s chin and tilted his head back up, forcing their eyes to meet again. “It’s alright, darling. You can tell me.” 

“The other reason I was kicked out from There. It was because I fell in love with a mortal.” 

“What?” Chan froze in his place, feeling as if his heart stuttered to a stop. “Who is it? 

Minho rolled his eyes before surging forward to place a chaste kiss on Chan’s lips, then returning his gaze to the ground, playing with Chan’s fingers as if afraid of his reaction. Chan smiled, cupping Minho’s face in the palm of his hands and leaned forward to place a long, deep kiss onto his lips. He grinned against their connected lips. Finally. 

They broke apart for air, Chan’s hands still glued to Minho. Minho was gazing at him with an expression full of affection, beaming with joy as he bit down on his bright red lips to contain his contentedness. Chan couldn’t help but place another kiss on Minho’s lips again. 

“I’m glad they kicked you out. You’re all mine now.” 

***

Chan and Minho had just finished saying goodnight to Jeongin and was about to retreat into their shared room when Jeongin said, “Wait! I need to show daddy something.” 

Jeongin shuffled under his bed before holding up a familiar looking letter to Chan, “It’s the last letter that I didn’t let you read. Read it now!” 

Chan unfolded the paper, snorting at Jeongin’s ‘Deerest God’. The content startled him, though. Rather than things like a cat, books, and a playground for Jeongin and his classmates, the prayer to Minho instead contained a wish for Chan. 

_I want my daddy to be happy. Please find love for my daddy._

“Baby, that’s so sweet of you,” Chan said, tearing up and smothering Jeongin in kisses. The fact that Jeongin, at the age of five, was concerned with Chan’s emotional state and picked up on his struggles moved him. It was touching. “Is this letter why you created that Tinder profile a while ago, Minho?” 

Minho winked, “I was planning on making Jeongin’s prayer come true, but I guess we both got a little sidetracked.” 

“Daddy, I think Minho answered that prayer anyways,” Jeongin teased with his Cheshire cat smile. 

Chan turned to Minho and kissed his cheek, “I think you did find love for me.” Minho grinned at that and quickly pecked Chan on the lips. 

“Maybe I still am a god after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's over!! thank you guys so much for reading this fic <33 i really appreciate all of the comments and kudos you've given and i'm really happy you guys enjoyed this :) come yell at me on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/skimminh) please !!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave some love if you enjoyed :))
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/skimminh) too!! i don't bite and ifb <33


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